The Exemplar of the Piston Attack:
The Imperial Japanese Boxer Tsuneo Horiguchi

Imperial Japan's best professional boxers -- Tetsuro
Uemura, Teiken Jo, Umio Gen, and Ryushin Boku -- were mostly ethnic Koreans.
Professional boxing is, after all, a business taken up mostly by the underclass.
The most famous Imperial Japanese boxer, though, was a Japanese named Tsuneo
"Piston" Horiguchi. "He did not have a lot of ability," said post-World
War II trainer Takayuki Yamagata, told Leo Noonan (The Fighters,
1:1, 1974), "But those fists always, and I mean always, were coming at
you. In one fight, both of his eyes had been swollen shut. He went on.
Do you know he won the fight?"

Added Hitoshi Misako, a post-World War II Japanese
boxer, "Ability did not have a lot to do with the way they fought [before
the war]. They were spirited, perhaps more so than most… The fighting spirit
that flowed through the veins of all prewar Japanese boxers, say in the
nineteen thirties, has diminished greatly."

Finally, Horiguchi's style of fighting, which
was known as the "piston attack," after the piston-like way that his arms
kept hammering the opponent without giving any thought to defense, exemplified
pre-World War II Japanese theories of personal combat. Even the Japan
Times admitted that the piston attack wasn't boxing, but it did satisfy
fans, and to the Imperial Japanese boxer, pleasing the crowd was far more
important than winning or losing, or even his health.

So, as an exemplar of the Imperial Japanese boxer,
Horiguchi's career deserves a detailed examination.

***

During the winter of 1932-1933, physicians discovered
that the French featherweight (126-pound) champion Emile Pladner was almost
blind in one eye. As a result, his license was suspended in Europe. Meanwhile
a Japanese newspaper called the Yomiuri Shimbun was looking to promote
Western-style boxing in Japan. As the Japanese physicians were willing
to overlook Pladner's blindness, in the spring of 1933 Pladner and his
sparring partners Aime Raphael and Raoul Hugues took a trip to Asia.

To determine who would fight the French, the Japanese
newspaper organized a series of elimination tournaments. Among the entrants
was Tsuneo Horiguchi, a 19-year old Waseda University student who boxed
at Yujiro Watanabe's Tokyo-based Nihon Boxing Club, and also did some karate
with Choki Motobu. [EN1] As he weighed about 125 pounds,
Horiguchi usually fought featherweight. (I say "usually" because Japanese
promoters tended to match fighters by their ability to please the crowd
rather than their actual weights.)

During the first elimination fought in Tokyo on
March 23, 1933, Horiguchi earned a four-round decision over M. Kamiyama.
During the next elimination match held at Hichiya Auditorium on April 27,
Horiguchi beat Jo Fukuyama by a technical knockout in the third. Two weeks
later, on May 11, Horiguchi fought Shuku Hashimoto. Wrote the Japan
Times' Leslie Nakamura afterward: "Horiguchi … beat the veteran Hashimoto
in every round. He had a beautiful combination of piston-like body blows,
occasional hooks and straights, and held Hashimoto puzzled until the very
end." Finally, on May 23, Horiguchi staged what the Japan Times
called "one of the greatest upsets in local ring history when he clipped
[Japanese featherweight champion] Kaneo Nakamura" by technical knockout
in the second. [EN2]

The latter victory earned Horiguchi a shot at
the French fighters. The first match took place at Tokyo's Kokugikan Sumo
Hall on June 6, 1933. The opponent was Raoul Hugues. Said the Japan
Times afterward, Horiguchi worked "his arms like pistons," and easily
earned the eight-round decision.

Horiguchi's next fight was with Emile Pladner.
The bout took place at the Waseda University baseball field on July 3,
1933, and the result was an eight-round draw. Pladner probably wasn't trying
too hard, however (he got paid the same no matter what the result) and
a few weeks later in Shanghai he had this to say about the Japanese boxers:
"While the Japanese are game and willing fighters they are not boxers.
They lack style and skill and the necessary ringcraft so important in the
game. They are all very fit and continually on the go but in spite of the
fact that they are strong and tough, they fail badly when it comes to hitting.
They seem to specialize in jabbing, rather than using straight blows and
hooks that have more power behind them. Another fault is that they take
too much punishment, being essentially crowd pleasers."

On October 3, 1933 Horiguchi fought a Korean called
Tetsuro Uemura. (In its Imperial translation, Uemura's Korean name was
Ryushoku Ri.) According to the Japan Times, the Korean "started
at a fast clip and sent Horiguchi to the canvas with a terrific right swing
to the jaw for a no-count in the first round, but he could not keep up
the advantage. Horiguchi made a brilliant recovery in the second round
and severely punished Uemura with lightning rights and hooks to the jaw
and body." As a result Horiguchi won by knockout in the third.

At Hichiya Auditorium on November 26, Horiguchi
earned an eight-round draw with a Filipino named Fernando "Young
Tommy" Opao. Horiguchi's draw owed more than a little to the home town
advantage, as the Japan Times reported afterward that Horiguchi
"lowered his head and waded in, firing lefts and rights constantly, as
is his usual style."

Anson Rego, a Hawaiian boxer who had five fights
in Japan during 1933-34, was certain that Horiguchi took too much punishment.
As he told local sportswriters upon returning to Honolulu, Horiguchi "was
in the hospital when I landed in Tokyo and he was still in it when I left.
It was just a case of taking too much punishment. Horiguchi is through.
It is too bad because he was the best boy Japan ever had." [EN3]

But Rego was hasty in his judgment and on May
1, 1934 Horiguchi had a rematch with Young Tommy. This time Horiguchi won
the fight after Tommy committed a foul in the seventh. Before that, however,
said the Japan Times: "He made the champion [Young Tommy was the
California bantamweight champion] look like a novice." This probably means
that Young Tommy had been spending his time partying rather than training,
as he was a far better technical fighter than Horiguchi.

During some political squabbling in early 1935
the Nihon Boxing Club was dropped from the Japan Boxing Federation. In
the process Horiguchi, a member of the Nihon Boxing Club, was stripped
of his Japanese featherweight title. This caused him to be booked for far
fewer fights than he was used to, so in August 1935, expressing dissatisfaction
over his ability to appear in worthwhile bouts, he quit the Nihon Boxing
Club.

His new manager, Fuji Okamoto, then arranged for
Horiguchi to rejuvenate his career with some bouts in Hawai'i. The Hawaiian
fight promoters included a Japanese American named Steere G. Noda and a
Korean American named Mark Choo. [EN4]

Horiguchi's first Hawaiian fight took place in
Honolulu on February 7, 1936. The result was a ten-round draw with H. Baguio,
who fought under the name Young Gildo. "On the basis of his performance,"
said the Hilo Tribune-Herald, "it was proved conclusively that …
any … top-flight featherweight in the territory can put Horiguchi away
any time they want to." Added Honolulu sportswriter Don Watson, "Horiguchi
has an unusual amount of stamina and fighting heart … [but his punch] isn't
hard enough to dent a package of two day old poi."

Local fighters concurred with this assessment.
In Hilo, for example, Horiguchi trained with a Japanese American fighter
named Spud Kuratsu. Horiguchi was "all show and no go," Kuratsu told Curtis
Narimatsu decades later. "He had no power in his punches and an ineffective
defense." Another sparring partner, Sabas Jamito, agreed. [EN5]

Nevertheless Horiguchi had enough power to pose
a threat to a flyweight, and he proved this in Hilo on February 22, 1936
by knocking out a flyweight club fighter named Alejandro Pasmore in four.
"Paying scant attention to defensive tactics," said the Hilo Tribune-Herald:

Horiguchi followed a machine-like routine of
flailing fists, absorbing three or four to land one or two.

He beat a steady staccato of jabs and straight
rights, interspersed with left hooks to the body. His pace was deadly and
regular. He kept boring in, pumping away with both fists, cornering Pasmore
or backing him into the ropes…

There was no flash to his style. He merely poured
in a steady shower of blows.

Not having been in Hilo to see the fight, Honolulu
sportswriter Don Watson was more sympathetic, writing in the Star-Bulletin
on February 26:One informer expressed the opinion that Pasmore
went down more from sheer exhaustion than from any one punch. A couple
of others report that a left hook to the body finished the Filipino boy.

Horiguchi would have to do some real body punching
to stop Pasmore, and we give him credit. Augie Curtis hit Pasmore plenty
in the body and could not put him away. In fact this is the first time
Pasmore has been stopped in something like 30 fights in the islands --
and Midget Wolgast [real name: Joseph R. Loscalzo] was one of his opponents.

Either way, Horiguchi was a featherweight while Pasmore
was a flyweight, and against competent boxers his own size Horiguchi's
lack of punching power was a serious problem.

In his rematch with Young Gildo on March 14, 1936,
the Tribune-Herald said that referee Joseph Baptiste, who gave Horiguchi
a draw, robbed Gildo. "Very few of Horiguchi's blows could be identified
as effective," said the paper: "He tossed about a bushel of gloves in every
round, but none hurt Gildo to any great extent. Gildo's defense was superb,
and Horiguchi's relentless attack bothersome but not injurious."

Most importantly, said the sportswriter, "Gildo
was unmarked [excepting a sprained knuckle in his right hand] after the
scrap, but Piston's face was puffed and his lips bruised."

From Hilo, both Horiguchi and Young Gildo went
to Wailuku, Maui. The fight ended in another draw.

Horiguchi's fifth Hawaiian fight took place at
Honolulu's Civic Auditorium on May 8. This time the opponent was Buenaventura
de Guzman, who claimed various Filipino (but no Hawaiian or American) titles.
As a result the promoters billed the fight as the featherweight championship
of the Orient.

During the fight, "in possibly one hundred blows
not one damaged the Filipino," the Associated Press reported afterwards.
"Many seemed to be with the open hand, others slid off elbows and shoulders;
but Horiguchi threw enough punches to win on points." But in this he was
lucky that the fight was only for ten rounds and not twelve or fifteen,
as in the ninth De Guzman closed Horiguchi's left eye and was starting
to work on the right.

The Filipino fans in the audience were not pleased
by the decision. Several thereupon incited their countrymen to riot. About
150 chairs were broken, a dozen uniformed police were called in, and "there
was a mad rush for exits by those who did not wish to get mixed up in the
trouble and during this maneuver a number of people were trampled a bit,"
said the Star-Bulletin afterward.

On May 16, 1936 Mark Choo signed Horiguchi for
a rematch with De Guzman, but nine days later Horiguchi caught a ship back
to Japan instead. Many Filipino Americans said that Horiguchi was running
from the beating he deserved. Nikkei [Americans of Japanese ancestry] angrily
replied that Horiguchi was the champion of the Orient and didn't need another
fight to prove it.

Partisan squabbles aside, Horiguchi went home
because the promoters were the only ones making any money. According to
Hawaii State Boxing Commission records, Horiguchi grossed $3,417.38 during
five fights and three months. After giving half to his managers and promoters
he still had to pay his travel, hotel, and training expenses. So like Joe
Louis, the more he fought, the poorer he became.

Back in Japan Horiguchi's first fight was with
Koichi Takeda. It took place in Tokyo on June 25, 1936. Although Horiguchi
won by technical knockout in the sixth, Leslie Nakashima of the Japan
Times was unimpressed: "All offense and no defense continues to be
Horiguchi's tactics."

A few months later (September 16, 1936), Nakashima
complained, "Something needs to be done about proper judging of this so-called
'piston attack' which was made popular among the fight fans by Tsuneo 'Piston'
Horiguchi. The fans virtually go into a frenzy whenever a fighter forces
his opponent against the ropes and hammers away with both hands. They think
he is scoring points galore even though in reality his blows may not be
finding their target and he is being punished by the other's counter punches."
But of course it would take another thirty-five years and Muhammad Ali
before the "rope-a-dope" defense became acceptable to the average Japanese
fight fan.

Horiguchi's next fight was in Osaka on November
1, 1936. The opponent, Clever Sison, was several years past his prime and
most likely was on the payroll when he fell to a knockout in the first.
[EN6]

On January 4, 1937, Horiguchi fought the Korean
boxer Teiken Jo in Tokyo. Jo had lost his last seven fights and hadn't
had a match in eleven months. Although Horiguchi won by knockout in the
fourth, Leslie Nakashima said, "Teiken's performance was a distinct disappointment.
At times, it looked as if he weren't really trying, especially when he
covered up and made no attempt to fight himself out of Horiguchi's two-fisted
offense."

Two weeks later Horiguchi had a twelve-round fight
with Joe Eagle in Tokyo. Wrote Nakashima:

The Filipino won a clean cut decision before
25,000 fans but the supporters of Horiguchi, who had been hoping for a
draw if not victory… hurled cushions and the ring and put the place in
an uproar. So the Fuji Boxing club, with which Horiguchi is connected,
protested against the decision.

Referee Sadayuki Ogino … and the two judges, Kikachi
Yoshida and Toyo Sato, were to meet with representatives of the Fuji Boxing
club and others concerned the next day, but it fizzled out when the officials
failed to get together. Meanwhile Referee Ogino stuck to his decision that
Eagle had won the fight.

The Fuji Boxing club … issued a statement yesterday
that the vote of the judges and the referee were two to one in favor of
Horiguchi, therefore the Japanese boy won… They also made public the copy
of an apology written by the announcer, Hachiro Kawada, for having raised
Eagle's hand in token of victory…

Referee Ogino declared today he was sticking to
his decision. So the controversy is bound to continue. And the fans will
be divided in their contention as to the winner.

On October 15, 1937 Horiguchi married 23-year old
Akiko Kobayashi. The couple was scheduled to honeymoon in the Philippines,
where he had some bouts scheduled. But around January 1938 he was found
to have hepatitis and as a result became physically unfit for several months.
When he returned to boxing his trainers discovered that he had lost considerable
speed. As this rendered his piston attack almost useless, this was a problem.
But, rather than encouraging him to retire, Horiguchi's trainers told him
that he lacked sufficient Yamato damashii, or "Japanese spirit."
So, toward restoring this spirit in their fighter, the trainers then had
Horiguchi take up kendo. Said a Seattle community newspaper called the
North
American Times in August 1939, "He has been practicing nightly at the
Ryobukan kendo hall in Tokyo and proving an enthusiastic, if not scientific,
pupil. Since Horiguchi is intent only on learning the samurai spirit, his
form is said to be very crude and unorthodox. He holds a stubby, specially
made sword in each hand and wields them at terrific speed. In fact, so
unusual and unorthodox is his alleged kendo form that it has been intimated
by the brave that he uses these short swords just like he does his gloves."

While the special training gave Horiguchi sufficient
speed and stamina to outlast Cris Peneda, a Filipino who hadn't been in
his prime since 1933, it proved ineffective against the fancy footwork
of Umio Gen, a Korean with a record of eighteen straight draws or losses
in the United States. (Peneda lost by technical knockout in the tenth round
of a fight in Tokyo on February 12, 1939; Gen won a ten-round decision
in Tokyo on May 29, 1939.) [EN7]

During August 1939 Horiguchi traveled to Osaka,
where he beat Yukito Tanaka in ten. Once the act was rehearsed, Horiguchi
returned to Tokyo to beat Tanaka by knockout in the eighth.

In September 1939 Horiguchi used his karate and
kendo on a Filipino called Fighting De Guzman. It didn't help much, and
as far as Leslie Nakashima was concerned the only reason Horiguchi won
was a lucky left hook in the sixth that resulted in an undeserved knockout.

On November 27, 1939 Horiguchi fought Taro Aizawa.
The venue was Asia's largest indoor movie theater, the Kokusai Theater
in Tokyo. Although Horiguchi won the ten-round decision, it was such a
sloppy fight that the Japan Times called it a "bitter disappointment
to his admirers."

Horiguchi's next fight took place in Tokyo on
January 5, 1940. The opponent was again Umio Gen, who, probably due to
his failing eyesight -- he had suffered detached retinas in the United
States -- hadn't had a fight since beating Horiguchi the year before. No
matter: the fans were thrilled and general admission tickets priced at
¥3 were scalped at the gate for ¥8. The fight itself was slow,
but as Horiguchi proved fitter past the ninth he hung on win the fight
on points.

On February 20, 1940 Horiguchi knocked out Joe
Eagle, a man that the Japan Times described as being "fat and slow
on his feet." In March and April Horiguchi had rematches with Aizawa in
Osaka and Tokyo. Aizawa evidently needed the money, as he lost both times,
the second by knockout.

After meeting and defeating several more second-raters,
on October 12, 1940 Horiguchi made the mistake of meeting a former collegiate
boxing champion named Ryushin Boku. The Korean fought in the collegiate
style, meaning that he stayed at range and jabbed, and to the disgust of
the Tokyo fight crowd he easily defeated Horiguchi.

Although washed up as a fighter, Horiguchi remained
popular with the fans so he spent 1941 beating second-raters in exhibitions.
His last recorded victory, on November 7, 1941, was a ten-round decision
over the still slow Joe Eagle.

Following the Japanese Navy's attack on Pearl
Harbor on December 7, 1941 the Japan Times quit carrying accounts
of sporting events. But, being a combative sport, boxing did not face the
negative publicity of less-martial foreign games such as baseball and as
a result boxing exhibitions continued to take place at Japanese military
and naval bases and hospitals until late 1943 or early 1944.

During 1948 and 1949 Horiguchi tried a comeback
but was easily beaten down. So in October 1950 he ended his life by walking
in front of a moving train. Meanwhile his lackluster former opponent Joe
Eagle became a leading promoter of Japanese boxing.

Career record, Tsuneo "Piston" Horiguchi

Best weight: Featherweight (126 pounds)

Born: October 7, 1914

Died: October 1950

Japanese sources frequently list Horiguchi as
Imperial Japan's best boxer, but this ignores the Korean Teiken Jo. (From
1910 to 1945, Korea was a Japanese colony, Jo got his start in Tokyo, and
as one Japanese American sportswriter put it, in his day Jo was considered
a Japanese when he won and a Korean when he lost.)

I say this because my research shows Jo's career
record as 41 wins, 12 draws, and 23 losses. Because many of these fights
were against internationally ranked opponents, in January 1934 The Ring
ranked
Jo sixth in the world, as did Everlast Ring Record in late 1935.
Meanwhile, my research shows Horiguchi having a career record of 49 wins
(27 by knockout), 7 draws, and 5 losses (one by knockout). While an impressive
record, few of Horiguchi's victories were over internationally ranked fighters,
and as a result his highest international rating was third-best in Hawai'i.

As I believe sixth-best in the world to be better
than third-best in Hawai'i, it is my opinion that Horiguchi is better viewed
as Japan's favorite pre-World War II boxer than its best.

Be that as it may, the following is the career
summary I have compiled for Horiguchi. Readers with additions or corrections
are invited to submit them to jsvinth@ejmas.com.

Date
of Bout

Opponent

Venue

Result

1933 Mar
23

M. Kamiyama

Tokyo

W4

1933 Apr
27

Jo Fukuyama

Tokyo

TKO3

1933 May
11

Shuku Hashimoto

Tokyo

W4

1933 May
23

Kaneo Nakamura

Tokyo

TKO2

1933 Jun
6

Raoul Hugues

Tokyo

W8

1933 Jul
3

Emile Pladner

Tokyo

D8

1933 Sep
16

Shuku Hashimoto

Tokyo

TKO5

1933 Oct
3

Tetsuro
Uemura

Tokyo

KO3

1933 Nov
26

Young Tommy

Tokyo

D8

1934 Mar
2

Tetsu Yamaoka

Tokyo

W8

1934 Mar
14

Eimei Hattori

Tokyo

TKO3

1934 May
1

Young Tommy

Tokyo

W7 by foul

1934 Oct
24

Hideo Hara

Tokyo

TKO2

1934 Nov
30

M. Hosoi

Tokyo

KO2

1934 Dec
10

Y. Masumura

Tokyo

TKO2

1934 Dec
20

Shuko Hashimoto

Tokyo

W6

1935 Jan
1

Sonekazu
Koike

Tokyo

D10

1935 May
20

Vick Amado

Tokyo

W5 by foul

1935 Jun
13

Vincente
Venturillo

Tokyo

TKO3

1936 Feb
7

Young Gildo

Honolulu

D10

1936 Feb
22

Alejandro
Pasmore

Hilo

KO4

1936 Mar
14

Young Gildo

Hilo

D8

1936 Apr
11

Young Gildo

Wailuku

D8

1936 May
8

Buenaventura
De Guzman

Honolulu

W10

1936 Jun
25

Koichi Takeda

Tokyo

TKO5

1936 Sep
30

Toshitaka
Nagahara

Tokyo

TKO6

1936 Nov
1

Clever Sison

Osaka

KO1

1937 Jan
4

Teiken Jo

Tokyo

TKO4

1937 Jan
27

Joe Eagle

Tokyo

L12 (Disputed)

1937 May
26

Joe Eagle

Tokyo

W12

1937 Jul
2

Umio Gen

Tokyo

W12

1938 Aug
7

Susumu Tokunaga

Kobe

KO3

1938 Aug
20

Ichida

Tokyo

W

1938 Aug
29

Fighting
De Guzman

Tokyo

KO3

1938 Oct
5

Toshio Yuki

Kobe

W

1938 Nov
8

Goro Kikuchi

Tokyo

TKO4

1939 Feb
12

Cris Peneda

Tokyo

TKO10

1939 Mar
25

Matsu Amino

Tokyo

W5 by foul

1939 May
29

Umio Gen

Tokyo

L10

1939 Aug
5

Yukito Tanaka

Osaka

W10

1939 Aug
28

Yukito Tanaka

Tokyo

KO8

1939 Nov
27

Taro Aizawa

Tokyo

W10

1940 Jan
5

Umio Gen

Tokyo

W12

1940 Feb
19

Joe Eagle

Tokyo

KO3

1940 Mar
17

Taro Aizawa

Osaka

W10

1940 Apr
17

Taro Aizawa

Tokyo

KO7

1940 Jun
15

Young Dundee

Tokyo

W10

1940 Jul
7

Young Dundee

Tokyo

W12

1940 Sep
21

Takeshi
Keido

Nishinomiya

KO5

1940 Oct
12

Ryushin
Boku

Tokyo

L10

1940 Dec
17

Kid Sauda

Tokyo

TKO8

1941
Jan

So-kyoku
Chin

?

W

1941 Feb
10

Fighting
Carlos

Tokyo

KO2

1941 Mar

Kid Sauda

Nagoya

D10

1941 May
28

K.O. Sasaki

Tokyo

KO5

1941 Jun
19

Baby Gustillo

Tokyo

KO5

1941 Nov
7

Joe Eagle

Tokyo

W10

1948 Summer

Haruki Fumimoto

Tokyo

L

1949
Jun 27

Okashita

Tokyo

TKO4

1949 Jul
22

Kanechika

Tokyo

TKO by 7

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Funding sources for this paper included the Japanese
American National Museum and King County Landmarks and Heritage Commission.
Copies of the manuscript with complete annotation are on file at the Japanese
American National Museum, the University of Washington Special Collections,
and Wing Luke Asian Heritage Museum.

EN1. Horiguchi's Hawaiian boxing license said
that he was born October 7, 1914. This is supported by the Japan Times
saying on October 28, 1950 that Horiguchi was 37 years old at the time
of his death. Nevertheless in May 1933 Japan Times reported that
Horiguchi was aged 17. Perhaps this was a misprint or reporter's error.

EN2. Although I haven't tracked
Nakamura's career too closely, it appears he had been losing fairly frequently
since late 1930. His best years were therefore in the United States between
1927 and 1930.

EN3. The source is an undated
clipping in Curtis Narimatsu collection. According to an article by Harry
Blauvelt published in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin on January 22,
1988, Rego had about 30 legal bouts during his career, and an unknown number
before boxing was legalized in Hawai'i in 1929. His training included a
stint at J.J. "Moose" Taussig's gym in San Francisco during the late 1920s.
He normally fought featherweight (126) or lightweight (135).

EN4. As an amateur, Okamoto
fought bantamweight, and at the age of 24 the Oriental Commercial School
graduate was selected to go to the 1928 Olympics. Of his style, Japanese
boxing promoter Yujiro Watanabe said, "He has a good strong right and left
straight punch with a quick movement." Okamoto failed to make the trip,
however, and in the end was replaced by Kintaro Usuda.

EN5. Although the Hilo Tribune-Herald,
February 18, 1936, says that Horiguchi had Jamito on the verge of a knockout
in one round, Jamito denies this happened. The denial is plausible, too,
as Jamito was known for his iron jaw. Letter from Curtis Narimatsu, February
1999.

EN6. When Clever Sison came
to the United States in 1933 he defeated Baby Arizmendi and other first-rate
fighters. But by 1936 he was over the hill.

EN7. On October 25, 1933 Dick
Sharp of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer described Peneda as "a fighter
of ability but almost strictly a counter puncher… The Filipino would wait
for [the other fighter] to lead and then smack him with two or three fast,
chopping punches." Being old and slow by 1939, he was unable to make this
trick work, as in physical conditioning Horiguchi had few equals anywhere.